I was really hoping they would make a good movie though. Check it out if you ever have the chance. It goes to show that even with some money and a crew made up of top notch Hollywood people and a few actors that don't suck, if you don't have a good story to tell, none of the other things matter..... A polished turd is still a turd.

The movie,,,, but I didn't get any artwork either...... Hell, I didn't even get a thank you.... Now that you mention it, I feel used,,, taken advantage of.... I could have used that 5 bucks to buy myself a sandwich but I gave it to them instead, and this is the thanks I get? Nothing?? No executive producer credit..... not even a ,,,,,,,, wait,,,,,, I wonder if they put my name at the end of the movie with all the other people who gave 5 buck.....oooooow, they better have spelled it right.

My understanding is that YOU have to do all of the legwork and promoting to get money for these funding sites in order to get any momentum. You can't just stick something up and there and expect random strangers to start donating money. Am I correct on this?

My understanding is that YOU have to do all of the legwork and promoting to get money for these funding sites in order to get any momentum. You can't just stick something up and there and expect random strangers to start donating money. Am I correct on this?

Yes.
Some projects do get enough momentum to get a lot of strangers on board, but that still takes the leg work to get the news out.

I sense you might ask: 'then why should I use such a platform?'
Because with 'all or nothing' projects the backers know they get their money back when the campaign fails.
Because people trust known platforms more and because you don't have to figure out how to get money.
With S & S you also get a ton of knowledge to make it a succes.

KickStarter, S&S, IGG.
That is why it is called a pledge.
The money is kept on a '3rd party account' that can not be touched unless the campaign succeeds. The backers get their money back if the campaign fails.
(This does not apply to flexible funding projects.)